The problem of shipping hot metal goods with low losses of heat will rise whenever cast or pre-rolled metal goods have to be shipped to more or less remote facilitates.
The distances to be covered can range from a few hundred meters to several kilometers. The greater distances increase the problem of loss of thermal energy problem even more serios than losses of thermic energy as i.e. the progressive increase in the difference in temperature between product surface and product core.
To heat the goods to their initial temperature and make up for the loss due to shipping, requires considerable energy and substantial time, especially when massive metal bodies like steel ingots or slabs are to be shipped.
Therefore carriages used for shipping such goods have to be carefully insulated at their bottom, at their walls and at their roof. The expensive heat-resisting insulators that are used for this purpose are stressed thermally as well as mechanically, especially when the carriage is being loaded or unloaded. These carriages are equipped with replaceable insulating panels.
The cost of shipping hot metals goods over short or long distances are high owing to the price of the insulating materials and to the labor involved.